Kainora Week 2014
by LoverlyLit
Summary: Entries for Kainora Week; one-shots following the prompts.
1. Connection

**AN: For Kainora Week.**

**Oh, gosh. You see, I actually wrote this one later than the others because I hate clichés so much. I'm actually a pretty cliché person, but hey, I hate them. I was hoping to find a suitable prompt or inspiration via tumblr before I had to write it, as I couldn't come up with a non-cliché thing to write about. And guess what?**

**I did. And then I changed it about seven times. But I still had a lot of trouble writing this one. I liked the idea, but the words decided to be stubborn and sound so cheesy. But you know, I really like how it turned out, personally. I hope you like it too. I hope.**

**So, please read and review. I really appreciate critique.**

**Set after Original Airbenders but before the finale. I guess.**

* * *

Kai just couldn't make the connection.

Jinora could talk so fluently and easily. She knew words he didn't even know how to pronounce, and he suspected she tried to dumb down what she was saying whenever he was around.

The thing was, Kai never really paid much attention to what he was saying before he met Jinora. His words always came out very simple and very casual. But when he was with her, he felt like he needed to say something with substance. Everything she said made him feel something. Every single word mattered, and that's what Kai liked.

It wasn't like Tenzin, whose words were overflowing of information and meaning. And it wasn't like Ikki or Meelo, who just spit out their words without thinking them through. No, definitely not like them. Jinora was just ... different. But she didn't even put that much effort into what she said, and that's what had Kai frustrated.

"Hey," she nudged him with her elbow. "Are you mad?"

They were laying down on a hill just outside the reach of the temple. It neighbored the bison pastures, and Jinora had picked the spot knowing how much he liked to watch all the bisons. He turned his head to look at her, and he noted how pretty she looked in direct sunlight. "No," he muttered. "Why?"

"You looked kind of mad." Her lips curled up into a small smile.

"No," he said again, and then sighed and turned back to watch the white clouds overhead. "I'm just thinking."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

There it was. That tone of voice she used that made him feel so warm and fuzzy but irritated him at the same time. It was so soft and kind, and it made him feel like she actually cared. Which, of course, annoyed him. Because she always sounded so genuine. And he didn't know _how_.

He liked knowing things. Knowing what to do, knowing what to say. Knowing airbending and knowing information. What he didn't like was that period of time that was so confusing and irritating, when you were in the process between not knowing something and knowing something. _Learning_. And he felt like he was in that process forever with Jinora. He knew stuff about her, but he didn't know everything. He didn't quite know what made her mad, or just how she worked. How she made him blush so easily. How she even put up with him half the time. How she felt so like a friend, but he'd never had a friend before, really. How could he know what a friend felt like?

"No," he told her. "It's alright."

"Okay." He couldn't see her, but he heard her smile. "Do you want to go inside or something? Is that it?"

"No," Kai said again. "No, this is nice."

A breeze ran over them, and he liked the feel of the grass ticking his ears. "I like it out here," Jinora told him. "I wish we didn't have so many classes. Then we could do this all day."

"I know," he let out a breath. "I'd much rather hang out with you than with your dad and all those scrolls."

He meant for it to be funny, but instead of laughing, she simply replied, "Thanks, Kai."

Which of course made his face go inexplicably warm.

"I should bring a book out here sometime," she suggested. "Or a couple. I have a few you might like. And then we could read together."

Kai turned on his side so he was facing her. "Or you could just read to me."

Jinora smirked. "You just don't want to actually put effort into reading."

"True," he admitted, "but I like listening to your voice anyways."

Her cheeks looked a bit pink, and Kai hoped he actually said something good. "What?" he whined defensively when she didn't reply. "I would say you have a very pleasant voice."

She smiled, and the color in her cheeks turned richer. "Well, I could say the same thing to you, you know."

_Stop blushing, stop blushing, stop blushing_, he told himself. "Well, in that case, we could just listen to each other ramble."

"That sounds like a fantastic idea."

"Then, _Sifu_," he started, and Jinora giggled. "Tell me about yourself."

"You already know a lot," she complained. "I can't think of anything else."

"I don't know _everything_," he whined. His heartbeat picked up. Was he being too forward? Too creepy? Too invasive?

"Nobody should know everything," she smiled, and Kai was simultaneously relieved and disappointed. "Besides. Information is pointless. You should know who a person is."

He tried to hide how impressed he was with her. "Information is pointless. This coming from you?"

She lightly punched his shoulder. "Be quiet. Books are different from people. Books are nice, but, you know, people are living. You have to work to understand them. They're always changing, and there are just so many varying aspects to a person. Your connection is always different." Jinora turned her head to look at him, and he realized he had been staring. "What do you think?"

"What do _I_ think?" She nodded, and Kai felt a sense of dread settle in his stomach. He didn't know what to say. How would he know what to say to that? "Well, um. I don't know."

"You know," she teased him. "Just say something. I want to know what you think."

"I don't know what to say!"

"Just say anything," she prompted, shifting so she was on her side, gazing back at him. Her brown eyes were really pretty, he noticed, and tried not to blush. Their faces were less than a foot apart. "It doesn't matter what you say. Just say what you're thinking. Just say stuff."

And that confused him further. Jinora didn't "just say stuff." She said things that meant something. She said things with substance. But after a moment of withstanding her expectant gaze, he was encouraged to just spit something out. "I think," he began hesitantly, and a little smile graced her face. "I think that I'm lucky you guys found me. I think that I'm lucky I have airbending, and I think I'm lucky you help me out. I think that I'm happy we're friends, but you're really confusing, and I don't think you know how confusing you are. I think people shouldn't be confusing, but it's kind of interesting when they are. I think that relationships are hard work, and they mean something different than connections."

He stopped to take a breath, and he noticed Jinora was staring at him. It was unbearably silent, and he was glad another breeze came by to cool his face. "That's ... that's really deep, Kai," she finally said. Her voice was soft and quiet and unsure, something he didn't really hear often.

"You think so?" he asked her, and he was surprised at how little his voice came out.

"I think so," she agreed. And then they just looked at each other. He liked the way the light caught in her brown eyes and gave them little tints of auburn and gold. He liked the way the sun covered her fair skin and blurred out any lines, making it look like she was almost glowing. But then she flipped onto her back, and he did the same.

"Do you think ..." Jinora said so quietly he almost couldn't hear her, "I mean, um, Korra said that ... we have a connection."

She made him blush again, he could feel it. This time the heat creeped down into his neck and back into his ears. "I think that," he licked his lips. His entire body was dry. He weighed the consequences of what he could say. "You know, I think that Korra's right."

She smiled. He could hear it in her voice. "You think so?"

Kai nodded. "I think so."

The next day, Jinora approached him before class and asked if he wanted to skip. When they sat down on the hill, she presented him with a book, and she started at the first chapter.


	2. Wonder

**AN: You may be thinking like "what the heck does puberty have to do with wonder" but I took it as Kai is wondering about puberty and how's it's affecting Jinora okay don't question my train of thought just roll with it**

**I'm imagining Jinora would be about 13 or so here, since she's like 11 or 12 now. Kai's probably like 13 or 14. **

I.

It all started at breakfast.

"We don't have anything to do today," Jinora says, swiping a pad of butter onto her toast. Kai looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and she smiled and shrugged. "Thought I might as well get it over with. That doesn't mean I'm agreeing to any adventures today, though."

Kai let out a long sigh and leaned his elbow against the table. "Aw, come on, Jin, I have the entire day planned out and —"

She pointed her knife at him. "Don't you dare even try to ask me," she warned him, even though her lips were starting to unfurl into a faint smile. "I know that I'll agree if you push hard enough."

"But your dad doesn't need your –"

"Exactly," she sighed, placing her slice of toast on her plate and handing him the butter dish. "I'm just planning on reading in my room today. Maybe outside if you're lucky. But don't bother me."

Kai's jaw fell to the floor. "Reading? You're choosing _reading_ over hanging out with me? That's what an insult is made of."

"Kai, no offense, but last time we explored the temple, I had to ride back with you on your glider because mine broke."

"I thought you enjoyed that," he said matter-of-factly, smirking. Jinora rolled her eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself." After a short silence, she groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Look, I just think we kind of both need a break from adventuring. At least for a day. I mean, it's fun, but we're going to get into so much trouble eventually."

"But that's what _makes_ it fun," Kai teased her, pouting. "I think you're just taunting me."

She laughed and took a bite of egg. "Maybe. Besides, I'm feeling a bit sore today. Its probably just from airbending practice yesterday. I wouldn't be surprised if you're tired, too." He nervously rubbed his neck, which, true to her word, was a bit tense. "We should both take a day off." Kai moaned and gave a few fake sobs, but one glance from Tenzin a table over shut him up. "Do you want me to get you some more milk?"

"I'm okay," he waved her off as she stood up. As he watched her, he couldn't help but notice that she seemed a bit ... _disproportionate_ today. She reached the cupboards much easier today than yesterday. He squinted, but when she sat back down, he decided to leave it be.

II.

Naturally, that wasn't the end of it. Jinora started feeling "sore" more and more often, and Kai was getting more and more annoyed. Sometimes he purposefully didn't sit next to her at meals as part of his protest, but Jinora just rolled her eyes at him and chuckled. It wasn't until one day, when she was correcting his forms in the courtyard, when he uncovered the real culprit.

Jinora sighed as she watched him. "Everything looks good except your elbows."

He raised a brow and smirked. "Everything, huh? Okay, okay, I'm sorry, don't kill me." Jinora shot him a glare, but her cheeks were pink. "Okay, so, what's wrong with my elbows?"

"They're not relaxed," she pointed out, getting up from her seat on the ground to put a hand on his elbow. "Remember, airbending is all about round movement. And this move is especially dependent on your arms, so your entire upper body has to be able to flow freely." She moved so their bodies were facing each other, and her face was so close Kai begged the spirits to not let him blush. After a few short corrections that included her hands on his biceps and his wrist and even briefly on his chest, Jinora stepped back and asked him to try it again.

"That feels better," he shrugged, standing up straight and shaking out his arms. "Hey, and when we're done with this, what do you think about –" he stopped and stared at her.

She blushed and quirked a brow. "Yes?"

"You've been growing," he accused her, as if it were all her fault.

Jinora rolled her eyes. "No, really? Why do you think I've been sore lately? Growing pains."

Kai glared at her. "You're not allowed to be taller than me." She laughed. "No, I'm serious! I'm the guy, _I'm_ supposed to be taller than _you_!"

"Maybe you'll get your growth spurt soon," she reassured him, setting a hand on his shoulder and looking straight over his head without having to tilt her head upwards. "But for now, I'd say I'm a good two inches taller." Again, she laughed, clearly pleased with herself, but Kai didn't find this amusing in the slightest.

III.

Eventually, it just became obnoxious.

Jinora continued to grow, and with that, her playful teasing of him did as well. When she said goodbye to him, she ruffled his hair. When she was helping him with airbending, she bent down a little. When they were just _talking_, she looked at the top of his hair with a small smile on her face. One night when she was walking him back to the boys' dorms, he complained about the brutal practice Tenzin had just put them through. She giggled and told him, "You're cute when you're whining," completed with a hair ruffle. And walked away. Leaving Kai extremely resentful of her word choice.

He also saw her father in a different light. Tenzin was a monster when it came to his height. What if Jinora ended up as tall as him? What if Kai never got the masculine satisfaction of having to look down at her again?

After a month, he was kind of used to looking up to her, and she seemed to get a bit bored of the teasing. Sometimes, it even seemed like she was annoyed with her height, because she huffed whenever they were standing next to each other and seemed to ultimately prefer sitting next to each other and not paying attention to his height.

IV.

And then it happened. The _by_ _far_ most glorious time of his life - save a few cramps and awkward trips over his own feet.

Jinora stopped growing and Kai started.

He was a little clumsy at first, but at least Jinora seemed satisfied with his growing patterns. Some mornings he walked right into the dining hall with a huge smile on his face and he knew, despite her eye rolls and scoffs, that Jinora was kind of happy for him too. She acted sad when he pointed out she couldn't ruffle his hair anymore and she made remorseful comments on how she wouldn't be taller than him for much longer, but they were both pretty pleased at how they were growing up. "We'll be adults pretty soon," Kai told her one day, sweeping his hand through the air dramatically. "And we'll get complete and total freedom."

"Not if my dad has anything to say about it," Jinora countered, and they laughed, and Kai figured the worst part of puberty was almost over.

Naturally, he was wrong.

**AN: I decided to end it there. I'm actually thinking of making it into a series of awkward pubescent moments, but I'll see what I can do. For now, it's a drabble. Please review! I love knowing what I did wrong or right, and even though I've proof-read this, there are probably typos so point them out to me please! Thank you!**


	3. Mistake

It was a mistake for Jinora to introduce Kai to her siblings.

Well, to be fair, it wasn't really her introducing him. It was more of a spontaneous, embarrassing encounter that she expected scarred him more than the Earth Queen's prison. It started out innocently enough, with Jinora taking it upon herself to show Kai around the Northern Air Temple. She was surprised at how attentive and curious he was, but most of his questions were something along the lines of "Have you been there?", "Can we go check it out?", or the occasional "Whoa. Can that thing kill you?" to which most of her answers were simply no.

"What's that thing?" Kai asked, pointing somewhere to his right.

Jinora looked up and followed his finger. "Oh, those are some airbending gates. There should be one in each of the Air Temples, unless they've been taken down or something."

"How does it work?" he smiled at her eagerly, dark eyes sparkling, and she _heard _her heart stop beating.

"Um, well, you airbend into it to make the gates spin, and then the goal is to get to the other side without touching the gates. So. Yeah." She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and Kai stopped walking.

"Can we try it out?"

Jinora's heart sunk. "Well, no."

Kai pouted, and her logic hit rock bottom. She was about to give in right there, but luckily some magical something pulled her back in. "My dad needs to supervise it. And still, even though you're a good airbender and everything, it's pretty hard. You could hurt yourself. I didn't even start doing them until I turned nine because my dad was scared the gates would injure me."

His eyes widened. "Can it _kill_ you?"

She laughed. "No, but if you –"

"Ooh, Jinora!" a squeaky voice called out, and Jinora knew immediately it was too late to run.

"Ikki, _please_ don't –" she began, and then two blurry figures on air scooters rushed past her, replacing the words in her mouth with leaves.

Ikki giggled as she circled Kai, who looked like he might pass out from shock. Meelo hovered nearby, watching with a big grin. "Ooh, Jinora has a boyfriend!" she sang giddily.

"Yeah, Jinora has a boyfriend!" Meelo agreed, laughing.

Jinora flushed. "Ikki, I swear, if Dad –"

"Um, I-I don't –" Kai stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hey, listen!" Meelo suddenly announced, his voice serious and lowered an octave. "Are you worthy to date my sister, young man?"

Kai's eyebrows raised and he pointed a finger at the kid, who had just hopped off his air scooter and moved to stare Kai in the face. "Wait a second. This is _your brother_?"

Jinora glanced at Meelo ruefully and sighed. "Can we use that term loosely?"

"I asked you a question, mister!" Meelo shouted, grabbing Kai by his scalp so they were nose to nose, "And why does your hair only grow on the top of your head, kid?"

"Uh, it's just –"

"I bet its a medical condition," Ikki promptly decided.

"Ikki," Jinora cried out in desperation, her face probably _glowing_ red at this point.

"A medical condition!" Meelo yelled, releasing the airbender from his hold, who then rubbed his ears. Jinora didn't blame him. She had been on the offending side of Meelo's lungs more than once. "I do declare this one is a reject!"

"Meelo!"

"Oh, but I'll bet _Jinora _thinks he's cute," Ikki said sweetly, sauntering over to her sister and receiving a death glare. "Even though he has a medical condition."

"Ikki," Jinora warned her, teeth gritted, "don't you dare say another word or so help me –"

"By Grandfather Aang, missy, does our father _approve_ of this relationship?" Meelo questioned her, stroking his imaginary mustache while holding Kai by his robes. He exchanged a devilish glance with Ikki and threw both hands in the air. "Does he even know? Why, sister Ikki, perhaps we should deliver this news to our father ourselves!"

Jinora's face lost all color.

"Wait," Kai managed. "You two –"

"I think we should!" Ikki giggled. "Jinora, what do you think?"

Jinora recovered from her short bout of terror and glared murderously at her sister. "I think that you need to be –"

"Why ask her?" Meelo scrunched his nose up so his face looked even more deformed than usual. "She's no help! She's the one who betrayed us by finding herself a boyfriend."

Jinora groaned and Kai held up a hand sheepishly. "Uh, if I could just say that I'm not her boyfriend, that would be great."

"Hush!" her younger brother commanded him. "Are you one of those airbender recruits, young man?"

"Uh, yes?"

"That explains it!" Meelo shouted to Ikki. "Jinora just wants to breed more airbenders!"

Kai paled and Ikki burst out laughing. "Meelo!" Jinora half-screamed.

"We shall report this to our father!" Ikki tried to sound official, but she was too busy doubled over in giggles.

"Ikki, don't you even –" The two zoomed off, laughing manically. Kai, on the other hand, stood there completely stiff, staring open-mouthed at where the two kids had left. Jinora sighed and patted down her hair, which Ikki had blown into a kind of nest. "I'm sorry about that," she shrugged. "I should've noticed they were coming."

"That's okay," Kai squeaked, then cleared his throat. "Um, so they were your siblings?"

"Uh, yeah. Sadly."

He gawked at her and shook his head. "How are you still alive?"

Jinora laughed, and Kai joined her. "They're telling my dad that you're my boyfriend and that we plan to 'breed'," she pointed out. "I don't think I'll be alive for too much longer."

He chuckled. "Yeah, you'd better run after them. I'll find my way back."

She regarded him with a small smile before she turned around and began jogging off. "Don't even try the gates, Kai!"

"I'll see you in the afterlife, okay?" he called after her.

She started to run in fear he would notice her blushing. "Whatever you say."


	4. Freedom

AN: It wasn't too hard to think of a non-cliché way to write this. I don't feel like it needs that long of an author's note. Um. Sorry if I messed up Tenzin, please review? Thanks? That's it?

It's wasn't that Kai _resented_ Tenzin. Or that he didn't like him. It was mainly his rules, and the one that Kai could (under no circumstances) break was dubbed the Jinora rule.

The Jinora rule was Kai's least favorite rule. It went something like, "Kai is never to touch Jinora in any way, shape, or form, and if the two of them spend time together there will be thorough questioning". Of course, they had broken that rule, but that didn't mean the rule ceased to exist. And whenever Tenzin shot a glare at him while Jinora was nearby, Kai was pretty sure that man was working to make it a law. There were times that it was easy to follow: morning meditation, when he was still lazy and not up to doing anything; mealtime, when all he wanted to do was eat; and curfew, which usually consisted of a long line to the bathroom in the boy's dormitories and - most importantly - sleep.

This, however, was not one of those times.

Kai sighed in the back of the group and slapped a weed back and forth with his finger. The airbenders were all sitting under the burning hot sun listening to Tenzin give one of his _riveting_ lessons. It didn't help that Ikki and Meelo were seated a few feet behind him and were actively logging his every move in whispers.

"Look, look look look! He's sitting up now." Ikki hissed.

"Now he's leaning back!" Meelo added.

"On his elbows!"

"Now he's popping his neck!" Kai gritted his teeth.

"Now he's turning around!" Ikki updated.

"Do you think he's onto us?" Meelo whispered.

Kai glared at them. "You two. Shut up."

"Kai, did you say something?" Tenzin called out, and the whole attention of the group shifted back to him. Ikki and Meelo slapped their hands over their mouths and muffled their hysteric laughter.

Kai sighed. "No, sir."

Tenzin's eyes squinted. "Ikki, Meelo? Is something funny back there?"

Ikki immediately put on a stone face. "No, Daddy. Nothing."

Kai shot her a glare before turning back around. At the front of the group, Jinora smiled and waved at him. He returned the favor before shrinking back out of her father's line of sight. He would've gladly sat nearer Jinora, and he usually did, but when it came to history lessons he had discovered that Tenzin didn't appreciate it when you started to doze off. So, from that painful day forward, he had resorted to sitting as far away from the teacher as he could manage, especially on hot mornings like this one.

"Now, as I was saying," Tenzin continued, and Kai could swear he wasn't the only person who groaned. "One of the most important aspects of airbending that airbenders must learn is that of freedom. Air itself is the element of freedom."

_I wish I was free to hang out with your daughter_, Kai thought.

"Long ago, airbenders decided to detach themselves from the world and live in peace and solitude. This is what freedom means to the airbenders, and this is the legacy we all are expected to carry on." Tenzin took a deep breath and let it out sharply. "Now, I think that we all should head over to the airbending gates for a little practice. Keep what I just said in mind."

Kai stood along with everybody and rubbed his sore backside. They had probably spent a good half hour or so listening to Tenzin preach about being free and lonely and stuff like that.

"Hey," Jinora said softly, drifting to the back of the group to walk with him. "What was going on back there with Ikki and Meelo?"

Kai involuntarily scowled. "Eh, nothing. They were just trying to annoy me."

"How?" she asked, and then sighed. "Do I even _want_ to know?"

"Probably not," he laughed. They walked for a while in silence, and Kai looked at her through the corner of his eye. He liked the way the sun caught in her brown hair, giving it reddish and yellowish tones and making it look really soft. Her eyes really looked really pretty today, and he liked the way her eyelashes moved whenever she looked around. He liked a lot of things about Jinora, he noticed, and cleared his throat to get his mind off the fact that she was pretty. "So, um, what did your dad talk about besides being free and being alone and stuff?"

"You weren't listening?" she questioned him, even though her smile told him she already knew the answer. "That's pretty much it, though. To be honest."

"Do you agree with that?" Kai asked. "I mean, the whole live on a temple for your entire life and stuff."

Jinora bit her bottom lip, obviously thinking. After a while, she let out a breath. "I don't know, really. I mean," she began, "I like it. I like living close to my family and friends and everybody. But I think everybody gets tired of that eventually. That's why we're nomadic." Kai nodded. "What about you? What do you think?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and thought. "I think that it's nice to be away from some things. But sometimes we need to be reminded of what we're missing, you know?" he looked to her for confirmation and blushed to see how earnestly she was looking at him. "I don't know. Knowing me, I'll probably get antsy and want to go on adventures outside the temple soon."

Jinora smiled. "Knowing you, that's exactly right." She sighed and looked out towards the sky bison pasture. "But you know, that's part of freedom. Venturing out. Trying new things. Meeting new people," she added, drifting her eyes over to him.

"Yeah," he agreed quickly, so that his body didn't have time to process her gaze into a blush on his cheeks. "I mean, if you didn't come with your dad to search for new airbenders, you wouldn't have met me - or, anyone else, I mean." She lowered her eyes and nodded. "That's a perk of freedom."

She laughed. "I'm not really sure my dad is okay with the concept of _me_ having freedom."

"Sure he is," he shrugged. "Your dad trusts you."

Jinora blushed and rolled her eyes. "Come on. He won't let me talk with you for more than five minutes."

"I think that's more of the fact he doesn't trust _me_." Jinora laughed and agreed with him, and even though Tenzin was shooting him pointed glances as they walked, Kai couldn't help but have hope that someday he'd actually be _allowed_ to touch Jinora.

But for now, freedom was a long ways away.

**AN: ****that turned cheesy really fast oh gosh**

**Y'all know the drill. Read. Review. Wait till tomorrow. I hope I'm feeling better because I'm catching this bug and I'm just miserable.**** My back is sweating. It never sweats.**

**Also I had the idea LITERALLY TODAY CHECK MY TUMBLR about a 4th of July one-shot. I'm in the process of writing it and expect it soon.**


	5. Tattoos

**AN: Unlike most of the others, I wrote this after the finale, so my plan for it was kind of ruined. Oops. But then I found a really cute prompt on officialkainora submitted by an anon and had to write it. But then I realized that, according to my writing schedule, I didn't have any time to finish it. So I scrapped absolutely everything and came up with a short little drabble last minute. But then I decided that it might as well be a bit different than what I planned so it was more fluffy than first intended because I was under so much pressure and, I mean, the other prompts I wrote weren't as fluffy. And as bad as I am with writing fluff, people (myself included) love fluff. But then I took one of my little headcanons and just gave up and ran with that, because this ended up being the last one I wrote. Overall, most of those decisions happened in a span of 5 minutes. **

**So, here's some slightly older!Kainora. Probably around 14 or 15.**

Jinora wore pink.

It was probably one of the last things she would've chosen for herself, but guessing from Ikki's proud expression as she walked past him, her little sister had something to do with it. It was kind of a peachy shade, a color Kai really liked, and it looked especially nice against her tattoos.

Especially _beautiful_, he thought to himself.

"Do you think it looks okay?" she asked him, and her cheeks turned a bit red. "I don't think I've ever worn anything other than yellow or orange or red, you know."

Kai cleared his throat. It was dry and scratchy. "It looks ... really pretty on you."

Jinora flushed more and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She had decided to grow her hair back out after she had received her tattoos, and now it hung a little below her shoulders. "You think so?"

He didn't trust himself to say anything more, so he just nodded and offered a nervous grin. She smiled back at him and they stood there, in all their awkwardness, on the steps of the temple. Quietly, Kai asked her, "What time are you coming back?"

"A few hours," she shrugged. "You'll still be awake when we come home, right?"

"If you bring me back fancy food, yes," Kai agreed, and she giggled. "_And_ if you tell me about it. I've never been to a big party - gala, whatever - before."

"I could take you to one sometime," she offered, and he blushed in the dimming light. "I mean, they're occasional, and it might be a year or two, but I'd have more fun if you were there."

"Really?"

She nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course I would."

Kai didn't know what to say to that. Instead he looked out to the city's skyline, pretty far away, and the budding stars in the distance. Jinora turned around and did the same. After a moment, he looked back at her. "I've never seen these before," he commented, touching the wooden beads hanging against her collarbone.

She glanced down. "Oh, it's just a necklace. The women usually wore these, back when the Air Nomads were, you know, bigger. The ones who had their tattoos, that is." Her voice shook a little.

"You're nervous, aren't you?" he asked. "Why?"

Jinora sighed. "I don't know. I'm scared. What are people going to think about my tattoos?"

"Jinora, you've had them for years and –"

"I know, I know, but I'm always self-conscious about them. I know its a big honor, but I just ..." Her voice trailed off, leaving the rest of the sentence uncomfortably open. Kai shifted his weight, unaccustomed to the way she seemed to be deliberately avoiding eye contact.

"I think you look pretty," he finally decided to say. Jinora then snapped her eyes back up to him, and he shrugged. "I don't see a problem. I think you're beautiful. Your tattoos are cool."

She half-glared at him. "You tell me I'm beautiful and then add 'Your tattoos are cool'?"

Kai laughed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, I'm calling it like it is, alright?"

"That's not exactly _romantic_, you know." Jinora smiled. Her cheeks were a deep, rich shade of pink. "Thank you, though. That was _almost_ sweet of you."

"Anyti-" Before he could finish, Jinora leaned forward and pressed her lips to his inner cheek, a spot dangerously close to his mouth. He felt all his body heat turn mutinous and rush up to his face, leaving his entire body stiff and yet like putty at the same time.

"I see my mom. I have to go, okay?" she smiled.

"Okay." Kai squeaked.

"I'll see you later. And I'll try to bring back some food. Don't fall asleep, alright?"

"Alright."

And then she left, walking right past him, her shoulder brushing his own, leaving him staring at nothing. Kai didn't really move for the first two minutes. After a while, though, he decided to jog up the temple stairs and into the lounge to wait out the next three hours.

He fell asleep dreaming of a pink dress and blue tattoos.

**AN:****_ Pretty in pink_**

**Does this even count as fluff like seriously wtf is wrong with me**


	6. Time

**AN: The lack of Kainora today is upsetting me.**

**Is it because it's Friday or something? Like. Really. Upload, guys.**

I.

Ikki and Meelo were running out of time.

It had taken them a while to get used to Kai (or rather, the idea that their sister had a potential boyfriend hanging around) but they eventually accepted him. Well, Meelo mostly enjoyed the fact that he finally had another boy to play with, and Ikki agreed that Jinora needed a boyfriend so she wouldn't be so uptight. Thus starting the debate which led to a very simple bet with high stakes: who could get Kai and Jinora together first in a two week period?

Meelo took Kai and Ikki took Jinora, naturally. They figured it would be more troublesome if they were both attacking just one of them, and they wouldn't know who to give credit to. They decided the consequences of the loser, shook on it, and the competition was under way.

Of course, that was ten days ago, and they were getting desperate.

II.

Kai looked around cautiously before exiting the dorm. Meelo had been surprisingly clingy lately, hiding in the strangest places and jumping out on him, _insisting _to talk about Jinora. Not that Kai minded that part, but Meelo was kind of interfering with actually spending time with Jinora, especially with him and Ikki hiding in the bushes whenever they were together.

"Kai!"

_Oh spirits._

He turned around reluctantly to see the little airbender hanging from the doorframe. "Hello, Meelo."

He dropped from his perch and rushed to keep up with Kai. "Where ya goin'?"

"Breakfast," Kai rolled his eyes.

"Ooh," Meelo sang, giggling. "Are you gonna sit next to Jinora?"

Kai groaned. "You ask me this _every morning_, Meelo. Yeah, I probably will."

Meelo grinned happily, just like he always did, his lopsided head titled at a sly angle. Surprisingly, he didn't answer, which only made Kai more suspicious. They walked in awkward silence through the corridors and into the dining hall, all the while with Kai staring straight ahead and trying to ignore the little kid very obviously watching his every move. When he caught Jinora's eye while piling his plate full of eggs, she waved and smiled. He returned the favor, gesturing to Meelo with his thumb and mouthing "He's crazy."

Jinora just motioned to Ikki in front of her, also staring at her like a murderer, and nodded.

Kai smiled, happy to see he wasn't the only one suffering. He had put a lot of thought into Ikki and Meelo's behavior of late, but came up with no conclusions so far. He knew Jinora would have some ideas, but she was always plagued by Ikki, and Meelo was clutching to him, so they couldn't even talk in private. So he just made his way over to Jinora's table and sat down next her wordlessly.

They made small talk for a while, even though it was obvious Jinora was on edge with her siblings sitting directly in front of them. After Kai handed Jinora the salt shaker she asked for, Meelo finally piped up.

"So, Kai, when are you going to ask Jinora out?"

Kai froze, Jinora choked on her water, and Ikki's jaw dropped. Meelo just looked at Kai as if he asked him what time it was. "What?" Kai managed, his face on fire.

"You told me you would."

"I said no such thing!" Kai exclaimed. He could sense Jinora staring at him. "Don't lie, Meelo, it's a bad habit."

"Says you!" Meelo glared at him.

"Why would you say something like that?" Jinora questioned him, obviously irritated. Kai forced his shoulders to relax, but it didn't help his red face.

"You told me the same thing last night," Ikki offered, and Jinora gawked at her.

"I did not!" she insisted, turning to Kai with pink cheeks. "Do you know why they're acting like this lately?"

"I have no idea, I promise," he held his hands up in defense. "Meelo's been freaking me out."

"Hey!"

Jinora sighed. "Ikki, Meelo. You two have really been annoying us and –"

"I think I heard Oogi calling for us, " Ikki suddenly spit out, jumping to her feet and speeding out of the dining hall. Meelo followed suit, leaving two pre-teens sitting awkwardly next to each other with deep blushes staining their faces.

III.

Jinora was getting pretty fed up with her little sister.

The whole interaction at breakfast had made things suddenly very tense between her and Kai, which was probably the worst part of it all. She didn't trust Meelo that much on a normal basis, and even less when the subject was Kai. But, as if things weren't hard enough with Bolin and Korra smiling at the two of them whenever they were together, Ikki and Meelo had to jump in and bring up dating.

She hoped Kai didn't trust what Ikki said. Actually, she was sure he didn't. But as she helped Kai with his forms in the courtyard, her siblings camped out behind a nearby shrub, she found herself considering all possibilities. Maybe her dad had paid Ikki and Meelo to watch them and make sure they didn't do anything. Maybe Bolin had sent them to see if they were going to get together. Or maybe they secretly hated Kai and were trying to make it as awkward as they –

"Um, Jinora?"

She snapped her eyes up to Kai and realized she'd been staring at the ground. "Hmm?"

"Were you watching me or were you busy giving that weed a death glare?"

Jinora blushed and laughed. "Sorry. I kind of zoned out. What form were we practicing again?"

Kai's brows furrowed. "That one where you do that thing with the hands."

"Oh, very specific," Jinora teased him, standing up to go and help him.

Behind the bush, Ikki whispered, "Hold his body!"

Jinora turned bright red, and judging from the pink lining Kai's cheeks, he had heard her as well. Last week, both siblings had been calling out random things occasionally, but in the last few days they had gone up in quantity. "Ikki," she hissed. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"What are you talking about?" Ikki said innocently. "Meelo and I are playing marbles back here. It's not _our_ fault you two decided to practice here."

Jinora gritted her teeth and focused on Kai. "Alright, can I see the paper? Oh, it's this move. Yeah, you do that thing with the hands. Can I see?"

And then Meelo this time. "Make a move!"

Kai's eyes turned murderous, but he kept his attention on Jinora. "Yeah, sure," he told her, voice dripping with irritation, and got into position.

"Kiss her!" Meelo continued, and then to Ikki, "Do you think either of them even knows _how _to kiss?"

"That's it!" Kai shouted, whipping around. "I can't take any more of you two!" But in less of a second, the two sped off, leaving a trail of dust behind them and two very angry airbenders.

IV.

"I don't get it," Ikki whined. "How come they haven't started dating?"

"Maybe you're forcing it too much," Meelo countered. "You should just leave it to me."

Ikki swallowed a bit of rice and turned to him. They were perched on a branch just above the kitchen window, armed with bowls of sugared rice. "Leave it to you? Please, you'd just mess it up more."

"Well," Meelo huffed. "Do you have any better ideas?"

"No," Ikki said sadly. "And even if I did, I wouldn't give any to you."

"Me neither," he mourned, pouting. "We're really gonna have to go all out, aren't we?"

Ikki sighed. "You know it, Meelo."

V.

Kai was so close to strangling Meelo.

As if the catcalling wasn't enough, Meelo had resorted to _physical_ encouragement. Sending a blast of air his way and forcing him to fall into Jinora, dropping notes to Jinora from "Kai", sneaking some of Kai's possessions into Jinora's room so he would have to go in there, and arranging the seats so they would sit just a bit closer at dinner.

Sadly, Jinora had it just as bad as him. More than once she had come into the boys' room to retrieve some of her books or slipped on strategically placed ice with the intent to fall dramatically into Kai's arms. Ikki also frequently suggested that Jinora and Kai should go exploring in a part of the temple she'd found, which was usually suspiciously well mapped-out. It would've been kind of fun if not for the whispers that echoed behind them wherever they went.

"Hey, Kai."

Kai shot up into a sitting position. He had been attempting to take a nap, but Meelo and Ikki had installed this fear in him that he couldn't shake. Jinora was standing in by his beside. "Should I come back later?" she asked, and then added, "Ikki took my shoes this time."

"No, you're good," Kai told her, swinging his legs off the bed. He was suddenly very grateful he hadn't changed out of his normal clothes. "I wasn't sleeping."

Jinora smiled at him and her eyes dropped to the foot of his bed. "Oh, here they are," she ducked and stood again holding her shoes.

"Did Ikki follow you?" Kai asked.

She shook her head. "No. She thinks I'm in the bathroom." An awkward silence fell between them. Jinora cleared her throat. "Is Meelo hiding somewhere?"

"No," Kai said proudly. "He thinks I'm napping. But I wouldn't put it past him to watch me while I sleep, you know."

Jinora laughed, and Kai liked the sound. It always made him feel kind of warm inside, and even more so knowing he was the one who amused her. "So, I guess we're alone, huh?" she asked, her cheeks a bit pink.

"Oh," he answered. His throat was dry. "I guess we are."

She coughed.

He blushed.

"Can I sit down?" Jinora asked him quietly, and he eagerly made room for her. She gently say down next to his feet. "Look, Kai, I know Ikki and Meelo have been making it awkward between us, but –"

"Yeah," he interrupted her. "I mean, uh, that doesn't mean we have to stop hanging out, right?"

She gave him a small smile. "No, I don't think so. It's just that they're making it harder to do things together, and ... I don't know. I'm sorry."

He stared at her. "Sorry for what?"

"Well," she chuckled dryly, "they're kind of my siblings."

"That's okay," he said. "I'll put up with them."

"I know you will," she told him. "I don't know if I will, though."

"Then I can beat them up," he offered, leaning back to look at the ceiling. "If you want, of course." Jinora laughed at that, and he smiled. "I miss hanging out with you."

"I do too."

Kai sighed, frustrated. He couldn't think of anything to say. Well, he could, but he was sure it would scare her off or something. You didn't just tell somebody you really liked them and thought they were pretty, and you _definitely_ didn't tell _Jinora_ that out of the blue. So instead, he fumbled for something to ask her. "So, um, would you want to hang out together again? Once your siblings leave us alone?"

She smiled at him in that real way she did, with her eyes sparking and her nose crinkling, and his heart stopped beating. "Of course. But first –"

"I count that as a win!"

Kai's entire body turned to stone. Meelo swooped in from the open window, grinning wildly. "Ikki!" he screamed. "I win!"

To Kai's horror, Ikki jumped in after him. "That's not fair! He just asked her to hang out, not go on a date!"

Kai's throat was shriveled dry. His jaw slack, he turned to look at Jinora, but she was just gaping at the two of them with her cheeks stained red.

"Nope," Meelo shouted. "It counts!"

"What –" Jinora began, but for once, she couldn't find her words.

"No way! Meelo, I am 'not' losing," Ikki said defiantly, crossing her arms. "Jinora, did Kai ask you out?"

Everybody turned to look at her. "What? What are you t-two –" she stuttered.

"If I answer, will you leave us alone?" Kai choked out. His words crumpled together.

Ikki and Meelo exchanged wary glances. They stood there, and for a terrifying moment, then didn't say anything. Finally, Meelo confidently answered. "Yes. Now, tell the truth, or there will be severe consequences."

Kai looked him straight in the eye. "I asked Jinora out. She said yes. Meelo wins."

Meelo whooped. "Guess who has to sleep with the bison tonight, Ikki?" he excitedly cheered, jumping around his sister.

Ikki wailed with agony and Meelo laughed, rushing out of Kai's room to yell. His sister sulked behind. Kai smiled widely and looked up at Jinora, but when he saw her expression the smile slid off his face. "What's wrong? They're satisfied now, right?"

She gaped at him. "Kai. They're going to tell my dad, you know that."

And then everything went downhill.

**Hahaha just ignore that sloppily conceived ending**

**But yeah! I'm upset by the lack of today's contributions. Considering today and tomorrow's pieces are probably two of my favorite things I've written thus far, I'm pretty disappointed. BUT OH WELL THATS JUST ME**


	7. Harmony

**AN: Ballet AU. BALLET. GISELLE. KAI IN TIGHTS.**

**Okay, so I was actually really, really excited to write this. In fact, I wrote this some weeks ago, before I had written the others. I had seen this prompt on the OfficialKainora tumblr, and I got so darn excited I could not handle it. I mean, I'm a girly person, and I have taken ballet before, and I love it, and it's beautiful and hard work and absolute perfection. **

**As for my references for this one, my best friend (who is not a very girly person, ironically) is actually in a ballet company. They do shows, and performances, and so I know about how they work. Namely, when they need a male lead, they ask a random guy friend to do it. And of course, that guy would be Kai. This turned out way longer than I planned it to be, good God, and I hope I got awkward Kai and flustered Jinora right in that middle section. **

I.

The first day Jinora saw Kai walk into the studio, she almost laughed.

She had seen him around school before, and he was absolutely the last boy she would ever expect to be dragged into a ballet performance. Usually the unlucky guys who the girls in the company would ask were the ideal Prince Charming's: blonde, fair-skinned, tall, slender. Kai, with his messy undercut, his tendency towards oversized flannels, and his flair for ill-fated adventures that usually resulted in either detention or the emergency room, was very much _not_ Prince Charming. Not that she had actually spoken to him or had any plans to, but she did overhear more than her fair share of gossip during the period she spent working in the school library. Jinora found herself debating whether this was amusing or just plain sad.

Seeing Kai attempt ballet, well, that made up her mind.

To be honest, his extensions were absolutely horrible, and more than once the teacher rolled her eyes or slammed her fist against her head, to which Kai protested, "I'm _trying_!" multiple times. Jinora sat against the wall with some other girls, watching this, and had to smother her face in her novel to muffle her laughs. And when she did this, even though all the other girls were in stitches as well, as she lowered her book with the intent to keep reading, most of time her eyes found Kai's. Or maybe his found hers, or however it worked, but his amused smirk was enough to make her cheeks heat up and for her to force her eyes back to the page where she had no recollection of what had just happened to the heroine.

II.

The first time Jinora actually spoke to Kai, it caught her so off-guard that she choked on her sip of tea and quite possibly almost died from shock.

He had approached her while she was waiting for her dad to come and pick her up at the theater after a kind-of dress rehearsal. She was just sitting in one of the audience seats, deep into her favorite chapter of _Pride and Prejudice_, her silver thermos pressing against her lips and her company jacket supplying her with extra coziness when he spoke.

"This part's pretty boring."

Jinora jumped in her seat and coughed out the burning sensation in her throat, even though she couldn't do anything to help her cheeks, which were undoubtedly on fire. Once she felt composed enough to actually say something that wasn't _completely_ idiotic, she took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder at the apologetic grin of the boy standing behind her.

"How long were you standing there?"

He shrugged. "A couple chapters."

She stared at him, her jaw slack.

He vaulted over the theater seat next to her and sat down. "It's not like I actually read all of it. You read twice as fast as I do," he said with a kind of awed tone, and Jinora took another deep breath. "Anyways, it's _Pride and Prejudice_, right?" She nodded. "Nice. My fost- I mean, my mom, she likes those kind of books." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, and Jinora couldn't help but find that a bit cute.

"That's ... awesome?" Jinora replied for lack of a better word, and then it dawned on her that she may have made him uncomfortable, because that came out sarcastic or at the least very uninterested when in reality she was really interested and she didn't want him to think she was rude and she was getting so flustered by the way he awkwardly was fiddling with his zipper and not talking and she _needed to backtrack_. "I mean, that _is_ really good, I mean, those - these, um, they're good books."

_Good spirits, Jinora, you're such an idiot._

"Yeah, so, uh ..." Kai grinned at her, and even though she barely knew him (no, she thought, more like she didn't know him _at all_), she felt like she would do anything for him to smile at her like that again. "How long have you been in dance?"

She laughed and closed her book, slipping it into her bag. "A _long_ time. Since I was three."

He rubbed his neck again. "Oh. I was wondering because, you know, you're really good."

At that, Jinora looked up at him, and he had his eyes shut tight and a faint shade of red was coloring his tan cheeks. She flushed as well. "Thanks, Kai."

He opened his eyes and attempted to resume his old attitude. "Ah, so you _do_ know who I am," he said, kind of with a sense of swagger, and leaned back. "I wasn't aware we were on a first-name basis, you know."

Jinora wondered if it was physically possible to blush so much in a five-minute conversation. "Well, seeing as how I don't know your last name –"

"No, no, it's fine!" he protested. "It's just, uh, yeah, just, don't even listen to me." She laughed, and for a second, it almost looked as if Kai zoned out or something. He cleared his throat. "But, um, I don't really think I know your name. Yet. I mean, nobody's said it directly to me, or maybe I forgot, but I just –"

"Jinora," she smiled.

Kai looked back at her, and his mouth pulled itself into a wry grin. "Jinora," he repeated, and she decided she liked the way her name fit into his mouth. "Well, Jinora, I have a feeling you know more about this ballet than I do, and to be very honest, I'm really confused about it."

She sighed, partly exasperated, partly in disbelief. "You _cannot_ sit there and tell me you've never heard of _Giselle_."

He sat there and said nothing.

She rolled her eyes. "It's about a woman who loves a man, and when she dies, her soul is brought back to life with the intent to kill that man, but her love saves him from the afterlife."

Kai stared at her and laughed. "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of, you know."

"It's a beautiful love story!"

"It's so stupid!" he came back with, flailing his hands in the air. "It's completely pointless, but it does explain a lot, but it's still pointless!"

She sighed, "It was written during the romantic period. Of _course_ it's pointless." And, of course, that launched a three-minute discussion on the different periods of ballet, which Kai started critiquing thoroughly and Jinora frantically explained. When Tenzin called her cell to tell her he was parked out front, she somehow managed to spare a minute before wrapping up the conversation with Kai and excusing herself.

And when she glanced back before closing the door of the auditorium, he was still looking at her.

III.

The first time Kai asked her to help him, she was watching a Disney marathon with her siblings.

It was via text, of course. She had been texting him ever since the latest rehearsal for_ Giselle_. Ikki had insisted upon watching her choice of movies the previous night, and so had Meelo. Rohan just shifted sides between the two of them, so Jinora called a truce and suggested a Disney marathon the next day. Of course, she hadn't quite anticipated getting woken up at six-thirty in the morning for _Lilo and Stitch_ in the basement.

Now, it was a quarter after noon, and the opening number to _Beauty and the Beast _was backing up Meelo's ear-splitting vocals when she felt her phone twitch next to her on the couch. Eagerly, she slid her thumb across the screen to read Kai's reply. It was plain and simple.

He wanted help with his ballet.

For some reason, she blushed. She didn't really know why, but Kai did have a tendency to make her feel a little flustered. What was she supposed so say? Agree? Well, obviously. But how could she reply without sounding too needy? Or without sounding uninterested and bored? She bit her lip, staring at the screen so earnestly she didn't notice Ikki peering over her shoulder.

"Who's Kai?" she asked, and Jinora almost screamed. Ikki noticed her red cheeks and gasped, squealing in her high-pitched voice, "Is Kai your boyfriend?"

"No!" Jinora sputtered, clicking off the phone and shoving it in her pocket. "No, he's not, for your information, not that it's your business."

"Dad!" Ikki screamed anyways, "Jinora has a boyfriend!"

"What?" came the replying shout from upstairs. Jinora groaned. "Not for long, she doesn't!"

"Dad, I don't! Ikki's lying!" Jinora insisted.

"He asked for help with ballet!"

"He _what_?"

"Oh my gosh," Jinora moaned. "He's the guy who's in the dance, Dad, it's nothing, I swear!"

"I bet he's _really_ handsome," Ikki cooed, leaning in. "Did you invite him to watch the movies with us? Like a date? What's his favorite movie? Is it this movie? Does he bring you books like the Beast does for Belle? Is this your favorite movie because it reminds you of your boyfriend? I'll bet it is."

After trying to dodge questions from Ikki and off-handed comments from an uninterested Rohan and attempting to survive through Meelo, who _insisted_ on singing every word along with the movie, Jinora decided on simply texting Kai a time and place, which ended up being the local park, because she didn't dare bring him over while her parents were home and her siblings were living.

When she pulled up to the park in leggings and a sweater, she started to second guess her choice. There were kids everywhere, like a swarm of screaming bees on the play equipment. People walking dogs dotted the rest of the landscape, and she doubted she would find a suitable place void of both children and dog droppings. But where else would they have gone? The studio was either closed or busy, and her house had already been crossed off the list. Maybe she should have just said no. Maybe she should've made up a somewhat-true reason to not help him. Maybe she should've waited until the house was empty, but then her dad would be suspicious, and –

"Hey."

Jinora jumped. Her face flushed and she cursed herself for getting scared so easily lately. She turned to face Kai's grinning face in the car window. Laughing, she rolled it down. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you kind of asked me to come," he pointed out.

"I mean standing next to my car."

He shrugged. "You were just sitting there for a long time. So."

"I guess I zoned out," she told him casually, even though she was morbidly embarrassed. "You don't mind meeting here?"

He furrowed his brows and surveyed the territory, and something tugged at Jinora's gut at her sudden realization of just how _attractive_ he was. "It's fine," he decided. "But why didn't you want to meet at your house?"

"I'm not an only child," she said sadly. She opened the car door and Kai jumped out of the way.

"Ah," he nodded. "The dreaded siblings. I see."

They started walking together. Her breath came out a bit frosty in the November air. "Do you have any siblings?"

He shook his head. "No. Sometimes I want some, but nah. How old are yours?"

She let out a deep breath and watched the white fog drift in the air. "My sister is 14, my oldest brother is 11, and my other brother just turned 4."

"So you guys have some age gaps?"

"Yeah," Jinora sighed. "Surprisingly, Ikki - my sister - she's the least bearable." She chuckled bitterly, remembering just a while ago when Ikki was ruthlessly attacking her in ways of her love life. "Anyways, um, what exactly do you want help with?"

Kai raised his eyebrows and whistled low. "How about everything?"

She laughed. "Okay, then. You've been in the classes for a couple weeks, though. How about you tell me what you _do_ know?"

"I know the squat."

Jinora closed her eyes and tried to suppress a smile. "That's a plié."

"I know how to kneel?" he tried, and she busted out laughing.

"You're not even that funny," she complained, giggling, and he pouted. She was about to make another jab, but instead she looked around them. "How about here?"

Kai stopped walking and glanced around them. They were kind of in a leveled off section of grass near the gravel pathway that ringed the park. "But people can see us here," he whined.

She pointed a finger at him. "Don't complain. I agreed to helping you out."

"Oh, please," he rolled his eyes. "Don't use that against me. I just don't want to look like a complete idiot on stage."

"Then why did you say agree to all this?" she asked him, and her tone was so sincere Kai looked away.

"To be honest?" He mirrored her as she sat down and began to stretch. The grass was a bit wet. "Girls in leotards."

Jinora gaped at him. "You're joking."

"I'm not," he held up his hands in defense. "I'm being honest, okay?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but blushed and looked away. "Is that the only reason?"

"Well," he edged. "I'm also getting paid fifty dollars. That's not exactly a bad thing. To be completely honest with you, I thought this would be easy. Just show up, dress pretty, twirl a lot and that's it. But it's kind of hard work." She raised her eyebrows at him and he groaned. "Don't tease me, okay? I haven't been in ballet my whole life _unlike some people_."

Jinora rolled her eyes and stood up. He scrambled to his feet. "Come on," she told him. "Let's see your squats."

IV.

The first time Jinora saw Kai in tights, she didn't stop laughing for a full two minutes.

He had somehow managed to get away with sweatpants for all the past rehearsals, and though Jinora thoroughly questioned him on his methods every time they had a spare minute, he wouldn't divulge his secrets. Seeing him before the performance, however, made up for all of that.

"Don't you dare say a word to me," he had warned her before the performance when she approached him with her hand over her mouth. When the laughing fits started, he just leaned against the wall and glared at her with utter distaste.

"Okay, okay, I'm good now, promise," she said shakily, but another look at Kai in mascara and she had to excuse herself to go to the bathroom in order to forget those images.

When she heard the opening number start up, she had to practically run out of the bathroom and into the wings to catch Kai up on stage. And even though his positions were nearly spot-on, Jinora thought that he looked pretty much completely ridiculous, and she bit her knuckles to keep from laughing. But she was already plotting on how she was going to get him to be in the spring presentation, and how she was going to manage to get the lead.

{~~~}{~~~}

**AN: I spent an insane amount of time on this one. After all the editing and rewriting, I really hope its decent. I don't know. I'm mostly proud of the work I put into it more so than the actual outcome.**

**And thus ends a COMPLETED Kainora Week. You guys have no idea how ecstatic I am that I finished something. Good Lord. Let me know what you thought of this! I know I drifted away from the ballet theme, but hey, there will surely be more ballet AU's. Also, expect a new chapter in Aika: Illuminated tomorrow! This one really starts introducing the plotline.**


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